“‘Have you considered that it could be burnout?’—psychologization and stigmatization of self-reported long COVID or post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome”

Ronja Büchner, M. Sc., is a psychologist and research associate in the working group “Psychiatry and Society” led by Prof. Georg Schomerus at Leipzig University. Within the working group, she shares responsibility with Prof. Schomerus for the topics Long COVID, ME/CFS and PAIS, and her PhD deals with the stigmatisation of people with post-viral diseases. She is also training to become a psychology-based specialist in psychotherapy.

Prof. Dr. Georg Schomerus is Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at University of Leipzig Medical Center. He has been carrying out research into the stigma of mental illness for more than 20 years. With the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, this focus extended to include the stigma of Long COVID and ME/CFS. He is the author of more than 250 academic publications and is viewed internationally as one of the leading researchers in the field of stigmatisation.